Is the Smart Art? 500-mile review of a Smart Fortwo Cabrio 450 (now sold but more still to come...)
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- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
- To be truly fair to the Smart's gearbox, we felt a minimum of 500 miles was necessary before providing a firm conclusion on whether the Smart 450 is good or not. A quick trip around the block would not do.
We fully explore the positives and negatives of Smart car life.
Head to @hubnotes to see our visit to the British Ironwork Centre seen at the start of the video (in a day or two) and stay tuned to HubNut for @misshubnut and her thoughts on the Smart! What is it like adapting to two-pedal driving for someone who only passed their test a few months ago?
HubNut merchandise is available at hubnut.org - make the most of our five stickers for a fiver deal! It won't last forever.
#smartcar #roadtest #carreview
You've done so well to take your Smart from a non-runner with multiple issues to the great little car you've just shown us. It's now a desirable rarity. Enjoy.
61hp? Wow what a rocket. My 2006 CDi had all of 40 hp and was lucky to hit 60 in less than 25 seconds LOL. They were quite lively up to around 40 miles per hour after which they got quit slow. Top speed (down a hill) was electronically limited to 130 km/h, in case anyone wanted to know. Suspension firmness was indeed noticed on anything other than perfectly smooth roads. I had to laugh out loud at the dim-witted automatic bit, so very true. The fixed top versions were nice with that panoramic roof glass (might have been plastic) panel, but it also had the lovely ability of broiling your interior if you so happen to park in the sunliight and leave the car for any length of time. While I had my Smart, I kept a log of every fuel stop. IIRC, my best per-tankful mpg was 77 mpg (3.05 l/100k) and my worst was 45 mpg (5.23 l/100k). I miss mine and I'm sure you'll miss yours as well
I have a Roadster.ForTwo Brabus engine/ecu in my ForTwo and it doesn't appear to be speed limited at all. On a private road ( 😁) it will show an indicated 100mph, though the speedometer is a little bit optimistic at those speeds.
Another top notch video Ian and Carly. I've never driven a Smart but for some odd reason having seen this car on the channel since she was adopted I really want to try one. It's great that you had some time to get to know her better but as times move on so does the fleet. I really wish her the very best whoever looks after her in the future. I wish I could justify adopting her but I just do not have the space.
There is a Smart in my town. Very often in our Aldi Supermarket car park. Another great video Ian & Carly.
I have seen a few Smarts on the Autotrader website with a red trimmed interior and rarer and perhaps more desirable, brown ❤️
I got the chance to take a Passion for three days a few years ago. It was an 800cc diesel. By the end of my time with it, I figured out the shifting. I used it in auto most of the time, shifting with the throttle.
Good on ya with the S..M... Art. A lot of people don't know that. Also, the C at the front stands for Compact, and the arrow in the middle of it means Forward Thinking.
I look forward to WHEN FINALLY Miss Hub Nut drives Betty! :D
That could be some time away. Having trouble insuring her on it because it's an import.
Thumbs up No. 800! That was me! Enjoy your Smart as long as you have it. The Pajero needs more attention and the new car... I'm looking forward to it! See you soon --- Martin
I kind of do miss the old reviews I mean whilst the walk around and visuals are MUCH better I kind of miss not having a better view of the road during a review... I felt it was great part of the enjoyment of the review...
I think next big job is to get underneath and tackle the crustyness before it progresses,other than that lovely little thing
Hi HubNut. FYI . NOREV of France have a sale on for detailed models of old Citroen. I thought you would like to know.
I might have posted this on one of your previous Smart videos, but can't remember. So anyway. Cut and paste.
I imported one from Holland in '99 and put it through the various things needed to pass an SVA in the UK. This was easy enough; swapped the reverse and fog lights, designed and printed a new index for the speedo that had MPH as the major.
It was fun, there were only a handful here at the time. People would stop you in filling stations as I put petrol in....is this electric, mate? Yes pal, thats electric petrol I'm putting in there. And people would wave you out at junctions, staring. It was very disarming.
However, it wasn't much fun to drive. Skinnier front tyres to let you sense the back end breaking away, crashy ride, the ever-rattling roof blind, that awful gearbox.
I was surprised to get a letter (remember them?) from MB UK one day. Would I like to bring mine to my local dealer for a checkup and chat? It turned out that they'd flown over an engineer from Hambach to put updates on it, including the gearbox. And then they sat me down with coffee and biscuits, and MB UK's marketing team, to ask me why I'd bought one and done all the rest.
The hint was that they were releasing in the UK soon and wanted feedback. Myself and a few other 'original' UK owners (all on the old 'Smart Club' forums) contributed some ideas to the launch. One of them that didn't make it (mine) was a hold mode for gears. Occasionally, when scooting up to a roundabout, coming off the gas would drop the gear, and that half-second or so could be terrifying while it decided what to do.
V799 FSF, I see that long ago you met your maker, but I still remember you fondly. I doubt I'd have another, although I'd have a Roadster in a heartbeat- but for a short time it was nice to be at the cutting edge.
My Smart has the colour of the panels on the V5.
Can you fit a longer wiper blade on the right to increase the swept area?
When the Smart was in development, Daimler-Benz fooled systems suppliers into thinking that serving this project well might get them into contention to supply actual Mercedes Benz business in the future. This turned out to be a lie and I worked for two companies that fought very hard to get rid of Smart as a customer - D-B screwed supply prices right down and demanded staggeringly-high system performance (considering the tiny size of the car). The HVAC in the original model probably had higher cooling performance than any other car on the road short of D-segment, for instance, but was supplied at an unsustainably low price.
There was no profit and absolute grief from doing business with Smart. The only slight saving grace was that the car didn't sell as much as D-B expected (and likewise in regard to the Smart ForFour/Mitsubishi Colt), thereby reducing supplier losses from catastrophic to merely terrible.
Aye. Some comfort that Daimler Benz definitely didn't make a profit!
If you've already sold it, I can see a big profit💲💲 on this Smart car.👍 But even with its cute styling, there are too many shortfalls counting against it for my liking. 👎😖😤😤 Will the Pajero still be a keeper? As we haven't seen you drive it yet.
Pajero hasn't made it to the unit yet. Will be the next project.
Lovely video. Is the black rear bumper original?
No. Would have been red.
Sorry can't see why if it's got an auto box you use manual?? The "trick" with these is not to force the throttle or drive it like a sports car. Driven with a light throttle changes are fine. It was designed as a low speed city car so "fast" gear changes are not required.
If I remember correctly the auto mini also went through all the gears under 30mph? and yes I know it was a different system.
The diesel is fine BUT they don't like lying around so only get one if you intend to regularly use it.
Plenty of info on this "quirk" but they will return app 80 mpg driven sensibly.
I had the "almond" eyes early model and the biggest gripe was the road tax. It's 121g on emissions so just over the cheap tax rate and it cost me £130 so you soon get it back on fuel savings but just remember that.
Mine was 2002 so it had struts not a transverse leaf and one advantage was it didn't have the infamous SAM unit just a normal fuse/relay panel.
The facelift "peanut" headlamps had the SAM unit.
I found it great for nipping around and the occassional trip and they will mix it with speed in traffic.
I always promised myself the later 451 as it solved most of the 450 problems.
We both found the auto mode dim-witted and annoying, often changing gear right when you really didn't want it to. Much better in manual mode.
@@HubNut It's possible it needed setting up correctly . Never found mine a problem. There is also the option of a remap that can quicken them up but no point if you have sold it on.
Wow, 500 miles already? Now that's how you do a test drive to review.
Mostly over the past fortnight too. Getting a proper feel for it!
Numeric Blue - no two Numeric Blue Smarts will have the exact same design apparently, they were all slightly different.
Oh! It's going oo be fine. 😮 That was Karli's reactoin. I dont think she beleived you.
1938 to 39/40 Mercedes built the Prototype Beetles.
Isn’t it good that Swatch didn’t make a deal with Volkswagen ? SVART probably wouldn’t convey the right … eh.. vibe.
It's still a modern car to me Hubnut how about buying a proper old school( pre 70s) Car
On the wish list. Maybe even older...
5:00 Is Mr Hubnut so vain he needs vaseline on the lens? 😉
Ha! Bloody sunscreen
Is neither an SM nor art.
Its the only car I've ever held on too Ian , been all over Europe and England, slept in it on occasions and im 6f 6 😁 mine has a hard top so no real noise issues but it does get hot in there 😅... great and fair review guys good luck with the sale , i do get its not good for families 🙏👍
Well done Ian for getting the Smart back into service. Re wind noise a square section soft self adhesive strip works well. There are some cheap coil spring assistors transform the ride. There are several adjustments available for the soft top. I have installed flappy paddle steering wheel. That really does transform the gearbox shifts. Airton probably the condenser at the front. Bit of a ball ache to fit but so lovely. Also I have obtained but not fitted yet one of those front wind deflectors. My friends car makes a huge difference to the noise roof up or down. Hope that this helps.
Could you publish a link for supplier/specifycation of coil Spring Assistors please?
I've driven a couple of these, and helped a friend swap out the gearbox on his example. Never really clicked with them. I don't mind a small car (ex Daihatsu Charade 1.0Cx owner), but these are not for me.
KNEE AND SANDLE COMBO ALERT
You're correct Ian, about the suspension stiffness relating to the Elk Test. The front suspension in particular was stiffened to avoid rollover during aggressive maneuvering, and give more understeer bias to a mid engine car. I'd argue that it's too far biased that way given my own embarrassing low speed understeer moment in a Currys car park 😅
If Mr Swatch had managed to sell the idea to Volkswagen it would have been called the Svwart. Or maybe they'd have given it a game name similar to Golf or Polo. How about the VW Tiddlywinks?
Ironworks centre?!? 🤓 Yay! I hope we see a stationary engine at some point.
They'll do "that" all day you know?
I do love an early smart. My uncle has had his since 03 an only intended to keep it three years!
That gearbox tho! 🤬Anyone know how to reverse the shift direction?
Another less well know addition is that if driving with no passenger the left seat can fold down flat giving a cup-holder on top! And, no, it doesn't have power steering (only RHD Roadsters have that). It doesn't need it as no engine over the wheels. Roadsters don't need it either, fitted more as a marketing thing as buyers expect it! Agree with you that with familiarity the gearbox is much less of an issue. Roadtests of course were usually written after only a relatively short drive. Better, as you rightly say, if fully auto is avoided.
Here in Italy the Smart was a big success. This soft top version is the only one I would consider, the opening roof making up for the complicated mechanical layout and all the electronics. I'm pleased you've managed to sell it quickly, it's no doubt gone to a good home.
Cheers from Padua, Italy!
An OG A Class review is due, particularly a deluxe spec early one that has been kept in mint condition. You never see OG A Class these days and they will undoubtedly become a future affordable classic. Please get one in and compare with the ForTwo.
A modern 2CV...? The foldable roof signals at least some kind of relationship...
No Sorry probably alright in the city where it doesn't get up to any decent speed. But I'd hate to get into a decent accident at motorway speeds you would be dead b4 you knew it. I can understand why The English are called Whinging Poms complaining about 52mpg 😂😂😂😂
It's a car that both "Hub Nutters' and NON "Hub Nutters" can like at same time, like the mini etc... Perhaps not classless though like the mini though...?
At 2.5 long and is under 1500 kilograms l could fit this in my 1997 Toyota Hilux ite with its tray length of 2.5 metres because the length is for carrying two CHEP sized pallets and l have owned several aluminium traded utes and to take a non running Smart and to get it running and to sell it on good idea as it is impractical for you and Miss Hubnut with your two Children
I could very well be wrong but your wipers might not be the correct length, I’m sure my partners Smart 450 wipes more of the screen than your video shows there. They’re both supposed to be 21” long apparently, worth a check!
Honestly these were big pieces of crap ever since their conception.
Maintenence, almost impossible, and expensive,,, ride comfort, breaks your back,,, road handling, laughable,,, gears change erratically and whenever they want to, not when you want them to,,, on a motorway keep away from anything bigger than yourself (even a Fiat 500) or you will be like a leaf being blown from a leaf blower.,, safety, non existant,,, visability, dangerous.
There is a lot more but not worth the time and effort
I owned one, sold it again within 2 weeks, drove it 3 times and vowed never to drive one again.
Just because you can change plastic panels for different coloured ones does not make a car a piece of art, this was a gimmic for sales purposes.
Absolutely brilliant video Ian miss hubnut ❤👍 it is a car for fun you have to come to your own decision brilliant
I still drive my 2004 smart, higher specs than yours leather heated seats sunroof, I take care of it, it takes care of me
The reason to remove the side bars is that when they are in the boot lid you can lower the side windows and drop the roof all the way without getting as much buffeting as you do with them in place. This is especially true for the Roadster. As for mpg my Fourtwo averaged 46 mpg around Birmingham in traffic, driven very hard, and up to 60mpg on a motorway trip. With the roof fully down we played catch with the Fourtwo, pushing it back wards and forwards!
Many thanks for this video - I'm glad to see that you also like the Smart. I think that the 450 with the leaf spring on the front axle drives like a mixture of VW Beetle and the original Mini - it's a shame that the little one has to go, but it's great that you've breathed new life into it.
There is a reason for the rock hard suspension. Blame the Moose Test. The initial run of Smart Cars was recalled in its entirety because the cars tried to kill 2 motoring journalists by flipping spectacularly while doing the moose test.
I always wondered what happened to Neil Pye. What's Vyvyan been up to?
Aberaeron looks great. One of our favourite getaways.
Please test drive one of the new ones. Maybe even the electric one. Try it on the motorway and drive as fast as you can.
I cleaned my glasses... but it made no difference!
I'm glad its not only me that reacts to seeing a smiley Transit like that.
The front lifts in acceleration, lacks power and torque. Screaming 5th gear on motorway hills. Resulting in turbochargers failing and awful mpg. In the early days, you had to pay high Mercedes prices and labour rates for a cheap car which takes more time to fit. The gearbox was awful, often leaving me without a gear. I owned one for about a year.
I remember making full use of the safety systems throwing yhe car at speed around round abouts, forcing the car to get me around as quickly as possible. It brakes on individual wheels if you go fast enough. It was a lot of fun. I challenge you to get it sideways! I only managed it once in snow.
Will be a great sacrificial car for a young driver...supposedly very safe. Saw several junked smarts in Switzerland, stacked 4 high... Frame is good...
I got one of those 1/18 Maisto models of the Smart Coupe for ages, you know the one where you can swap the body work from (in my case) red to yellow - maybe a better way to enjoy the gorgeous looks than actually own a real one? 😅
Very much a car that interests me; especially as after moving homes I live quite close to a Smart specialist.
IMO all cars should have 1960's/1970's French designed seats. They've never been surpassed and it seems never will be.
Ive had 2 smart fortwo,s 450 one like this and the 451 with the mitsubishi engine with larger door mirrors which i prefer much more than the 450 ive loved both but they do look better with the two pods on the dash of clock and rev counter , and when you get used to the gearbox its not that bad.
Did you try parking the smart in the way it was intended on a roadside parking bay front or rear to the kerb?
Also have you considered the mk1 Smart 4 four. It's based on the Mitsubishi Colt and looks pretty cool. Plus rare to spot now.
Didn't try that! Never felt comfortable with it... A ForFour is something we'd like to try.
Don't fart in the smart. Smart ryms with fart too hehehehehe 😂
Great video
On a slight tangent, what sort of weird font have they used on the New Quay town sign? Was that the only sheet of Letraset left in the council office, or something?
I've owned a fortwo diesel and a roadster along with a Citroen C4 with the BMP automated gearbox and a MB Sprinter van with the SprintShift automated gearbox ... out of those four I think I liked the Citroen best 😮 But it's certainly possible to get used to their quirks so the slow and/or unexpected gearchanges don't come as a surprise.
Is yours on larger wheels than standard? I wonder if it would ride better on smaller wheels and chunkier tyres?
Great to see it resurrected and glad you could scratch the Smart itch.
So, what next now it has sold? Bella resurrection or Bella replacement?
Standard wheels. Still hoping to resurrect Bella because we just love a hopeless case...
Any reason why longer wiper blades couldn't be fitted?
I think they'd probably clash.
Re-mapping improves the gearbox no end...no jerking around...a great fair review 👍
In the original LHD ..the drivers seat is lower ..there is a box of tricks on the right hand floor...so when RHD the seat sits on the box of tricks, hence the high driving position
Wow. Well this car didnt last long. Hope you bought another Citroen.
Um...
8:40 Power steering was a very rarely specified option on the 450, the majority of them don't have it and neither do they need it with skinny front tyres, light weight and a rear weight bias.
An excellent review Ian and Carly. It's one of those cars people love or hate and I am in the love camp, a little weekend toy or a work commuter car.
When you fold the rear window up you need to make sure you chop the window plastic so it folds neatly in half - it’ll crease (as it has done in the vid) and will split on a cold day.
What a pain. Glad they changed to glass for the 451.
Is the rev counter plug and play? Might be a nice upgrade
Can be, but can also need someone with the right software to activate it.
Absolutely loved mine. It’s a go-kart design. Flat floor. Rear engine. Certainly a future classic.
The British Ironwork Centre is just down the road from where my late mother lived, still pass it on my way down to the In-Laws.
Have never called in so will be waiting for the @hubnotes review
Do the newest smarts use DCT boxes?
Checked off the dream car list. So everything works again, nice long test drive, on to the next owner.
i saw your smart just outside oswestry, and thought no they won't be up here. This video proves me wrong.
It sounds like it's bedding in now.
13:00 to the list of desirable small cars spoiled by over-stiff suspensions, add the BMW i3. I was convinced we were going to buy a used example until on the test drive we got it to our part of town with the potholes, and the stiff suspension to stop it rolling over, and the 20" wheels as an upmarket accessory, made it very uncomfortable indeed. The only car I've driven that was worse was a sporty model of the Lexus which had been slammed, yo, for drifting or something, and nearly broke my spine at the first small pothole. Some day the engineers will get a better compromise between stability and comfort in really small cars. But the Smart might win me over, anyway.
That's disappointing. I'm keen to try an i3.
@@HubNutI’ll be interested to hear your reactions. It was lovely on the new roads where the dealership was, but on rougher roads of Auckland’s infrastructure deficit, crashy. It also had a natural period of oscillation that locked in with a waviness of the harbour bridge and I nearly lost my lunch. But in other ways, we really wanted to buy it. Good electrovroom, too.
The smudging on your camera reminded me of a scene from a 1970s, French, romantic movie.
We've owned a City Coupe from new in 2002. It has been one of the most enjoyable cars we've ever had.
The correct size of blades for these earlier models is 21" on both driver and passenger sides. The ones fitted to your example certainly appear too short.
If 21" blades collide this would indicate wear & slop in the mechanism or the arms being misaligned.
I think it's 21s I have, possibly 20.
Yes, I agree, the steering wheel makes my hands hurt after a while as well. It also looks like the wrong size wipers are fitted, it needs longer ones.
Someone in a Skoda Karoq drove into the back of my Smart this week at some considerable speed whilst I was waitng to enter a roundabout. Surprisingly little damage was done, they are very tough little cars. Its now in the bodyshop having a few new panels bolted on.
I don't think you could fit larger ones without them meeting in the middle... Glad the Smart largely escaped too much damage.
Another great video Ian funky little car love it
@Carly, I like the firm seats too
I ❤ SMART
Aircon might need a regas.
Where did you get that hat?? I want one 👍
I can't even remember...
@@HubNut I’m on eBay and looking 😂
I think it was a random charity shop find in Aberystwyth. They had a job lot of them, all brand new.
It's a Panama. You can buy them in a small country in Central America, plus loads of other places.
I think what you should have said was "I would like to have one just the same as that". 😂
I quite fancy owning a smart now
A very splendid hat!
Love the 450 Smart ForTwo
It would have been funny to see those wheels on a 2CV though, but the PCD is wrong, so, they wouldn't fit a duck's studs, but it's an interesting thought that the original idea was a compact EV, and then other people made compact city EVs that were, well, divisive at best ( **cough** G-wizz **cough** ), so probably best they didn't make it an EV really... :P
Farewell to the Smart Vehicle. 👍👍
❤😊
Nice video series about this Smart, learned a lot more about it than ever before :)
In light of this, took a better look at my 1/43 New Ray model of Smart Fortwo Hatchback, and from dual exhaust pipes, I guess it's modeled after Brabus version, maybe 2003 model year. Same looking front end and headlights as in your Cabrio, same colour scheme too of red and silver.
I'd suggest it probably doesn't have power steering. When you drove my wife's 451 you mentioned it having power steering in the video, however it didn't.
Also, agree you do absolutely find the Smart gearboxes much more palatable once you are more familiar with them, to the extent where on our 451 I actually got a lot of satisfaction driving it with the flappy paddles, which I don't at all using the similar robotised manual "Dualogic" gearbox in the Fiat 500C we replaced it with.
First saw Smart cars in France and thought they were really cool city cars. For those familiar with the VW "punch-buggy-colour" game, my sister and I also do something similar, with it being "Smart-slap-colour", including the slapping part. Yes, we're still kids, even though we're adults 😂
I think you have really done well to get it sorted, I'm surprised your selling it. Then again I know so little about cars, I used to think a McPherson strut was a Scottish dance.
Bwoody hell! When I was a kid new to motoring in the lipsmackingcoolfizzin seventies 145 tyres were wide!
Im loving this video.
I remember a weekend back in, I think it was, 2001. There was a meeting of the Wessex Ducks 2CV club at The Elm Tree in Ringwood and somebody turned up in a left hand drive Smart Diesel. They claimed it did over 80 to the gallon. A few days later my friends grandmother finally received her Aixam which was also a Diesel. This did about the same MPG and had a similar engine capacity as I remember. There was quite a significant difference in the standard of build quality though. The Smart appeared to be a small version of the latest, most economical car whereas the Aixam was something somebody had thrown together in a shed. It would be amazing if you could do a head to head between the two. :o) I have absolutely no idea where you would find a diesel Smart or an Aixam though.
I suppose 60 mph in 13.5 seconds isn't going to win a traffic light drag race, but I'm sure it must feel as if you're going much faster in such a little car.
Glad you won the battle on this one. I've seen the struggles you've been having and success is yours now! I had an early smart 660 coupe in Spain as a hire car in about 2005 and enjoyed every minute. Complex little vehicle though isn't it?